Ash Buckles wrote a great entry about last night’s Geek Dinner at AppleBee’s. It was a lot of fun and he even snapped a photo of Phil setting up power for all our laptops.

Excellent Blogger Dinner Last Night - Ash Buckles - Blog

I really enjoyed myself and it was fun to see so many people there. Here are the details about the Geek Dinner:

WHEN: The 4th Thursday of each month WHERE: Applebees in Draper, Utah (on 123th just off I-15) TIME: 6:00 pm WHO: Everyone is invited WHAT: Bring any discussion on your mind WHY: For fun, duh.

We had a lot of fun last night! Thanks, Ash for setting these up!

By way of Jordy’s blog comes word that another great local organization for Utah’s technically capable set is starting up. As stated on UtahInventor.org:

Utah Inventor of the Year for 2006, Dr. Dinesh Patel and other key leaders are scheduled to address an audience comprised of corporate and academic inventors, along with independent inventors from throughout the state, at a one-day symposium on April 28, 2007 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on the SLCC Miller Campus. The presentation is the first event to be hosted by the newly formed consortium known as UtahInventor.org. The purpose of UtahInventor.org is to increase awareness and interest in invention and innovation among corporations and universities, and to assist independent inventors and students in charting a course of action for their ideas and projects. UtahInventor.org also hopes to provide an avenue for USTAR, a state agency, to use its vast resources to help innovators. Admission is free.

That’s this Saturday so if you’re looking for a free, neat event to go to - check it out!

While we sincerely meant to have another CodeAway for the month of April the month seems to have gotten away from us. There will be no April CodeAway event but stay tuned as we prepare to redouble our organizational efforts for May.

We’ll announce the date and location for May when we have things nailed down.

Emily Higbee from XMission just emailed me with an update to the Computer Recycling Event I previously mentioned. The venue has been moved to

Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce (west parking lot) 175 E. 400 S. SLC, UT 84111

Google has long been considered a top-notch repository for the geekiest of brainshare. However, it was a bit of a shame that there was never an event that would allow the best and brightest of Goog to interface with other developers, ala Yahoo’s Open Hack Day - there was never an event, however, until now.

Google has announced that Google Developer Day will be May 31st. If you’re interested in attending and happen to be near one of the many GooglePlexes around the planet (Mountain View, CA, London, Paris, etc) check out the Google Developer Day site.

Seth Godin is a world renown speaker, author, and guru in a variety of disciplines from marketing to organizational structure. He’s doing a tour for his latest book but with a twist - he’ll go anywhere that can get 500 people to pay $50 a head. In return he’ll give his latest greatest insights and and attendees will walk away with a copy of the new book.

I’d like to see Salt Lake City be one of the places he visits - sure, the coasts may have more venture capital money or flashy startups but there’s no reason that Salt Lake City should be considered second tier to them. This is a matter of civic pride. There is no reason why A-list speakers shouldn’t be rubbing elbows with the Wasatch front’s best and brightest. That’s why some friends and I started a pledge bank to campaign for Seth to come on the 24th of May:

http://www.pledgebank.com/SethGodinUtah

With the pledge bank there is no money up front and no credit card numbers - all you’re saying is that if we can get 500 people to sign up you’d like to attend the event. If it doesn’t work out we just walk away so much the wiser.

So what’s the book about? From the book description page:

The old saying is wrong-winners do quit, and quitters do win. Every new project (or job, or hobby, or company) starts out exciting and fun. Then it gets harder and less fun, until it hits a low point-really hard, and not much fun at all. And then you find yourself asking if the goal is even worth the hassle. Maybe you’re in a Dip-a temporary setback that will get better if you keep pushing. But maybe it’s really a Cul-de-Sac, which will never get better, no matter how hard you try. What really sets superstars apart from everyone else is the ability to escape dead ends quickly, while staying focused and motivated when it really counts. … Whether you’re a graphic designer, a sales rep, an athlete, or an aspiring CEO, this fun little book will help you figure out if you’re in a Dip that’s worthy of your time, effort, and talents. If you are, The Dip will inspire you to hang tough. If not, it will help you find the courage to quit-so you can be number one at something else. I don’t claim to have all the answers. But I will teach you how to ask the right questions.

We’re competing with other cities, like Phoenix (http://www.pledgebank.com/sethgodin) and I would love to think that the Utah professional community could lick those desert dwellers in organizational gusto. Even if you, personally, aren’t interested please consider passing along the message to any marketing or sales types within your organizations - they might also be interested in bringing this world renown speaker to the Intermountain West.

• So, if you’re interested check out the pledge page: http://www.pledgebank.com/SethGodinUtah

• more about the book: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/the_dip/

• and more about the tour details: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/thedip/2007/03/thedip_tour.html

I found this website for a company that provides virtual offices here in Salt Lake City.

• Davinci Virtual Offices

Unfortunately, their website is so unclear that I can’t tell what you get for your $95 a month. It says you have access to day offices and conference rooms, but then it also says that there are hourly charges. Do I have to pay the hourly charge in addition to that 95 bucks a month? The website wasn’t very clear.

I called them, got frustrated with the fact that they wanted so much information from me before they would even answer my questions and hung up on them while I was on hold.

Here’s where my perception of them turned, however. They called me back and were very professionally able to answer all my questions.

My biggest question? Is a virtual office the same as coworking? As far as Davinci Suites is concerned, no.

That $95 a month allows you to use their address as your business address for licensing, mail and such. If you want to use their day offices or conference rooms, it’s an additional $25 to $35 an hour depending on the size of the room. They do have complimentary cyber-cafes that you can use without paying, but they are small, much like an office lunch room.

I had heard rumors of a coworking site in Utah, but it was this Davinci Virtual Offices. They seem professional and a great place if you need some sort of business-like image. If you need camaradarie, however, you’re out of luck.

In March they had a great presentation by Josh Coates, the Founder and CEO of Berkley Data Systems (and creators of the Mozy Online Backup tool). For April, the Utah Tech Spotlight folks will be holding their event on the 20th, 3-4pm, at the Bohemian Brewery and Grill. That location is at:

94 East and 7200 S, right off of State Street, SLC

I’ve updated the Google Utah Tech Calendar with all the details. Drinks will be provided but please RSVP ahead of time. Hope to see you there!

In February we were lucky enough to have Emily Higbee, a member of Xmission’s marketing department, come to our CodeAway event. She dropped hints of several new exciting and useful projects in the Xmission pipeline. Now that some details have solidified I’m pleased to share.

On Saturday, May 12th, from 10am till 2pm Xmission and Salt Lake City will be holding an electronics recycling event. It will take place on the east side of Washington Square. Since it is for Salt Lake City residents proof of residence (like a utility bill) is required. For those not a resident of Salt Lake the following rates apply:

computers $5 monitors$10 TVs $15-$25 printers $5 fax machines $8 scanners $8 Keyboard $1 VCR/DVD $5

So if you’re in the area and were looking for something to do with that old hardware - here you go!